Also on the ugly (or good side, depending upon how you look at it)... if you send out too many requests for connections that get a "Don't Know" response, you will be put into LinkedIn Limbo. That means that you will need to have the person's email address in order to connect (the way the system works is that you can click on a potential contact and the request is sent to them automatically). The "Don't Know" feature keeps people from spamming the entire community to get connections that really aren't good connections. So if you are reaching out to someone at the periphery of your connectedness, you also need to remind them how they might know you. I don't know the threshold that gets you Limbo'd, but I think it is between 3 and 5. And they will take their sweet time reinstating you. So even if the CEO has said hello to you in the elevator, don't assume that she (or her admin) will accept your invite.
There are several ARMA International groups, including a number from Chapters. I "own" the primary ARMA group and have received permission from ARMA to use the ARMA logo. I generally reject applicants who are not obviously in the RIM industry (another "bad" aspect of LinkedIn is that there were a number of people who were "collecting" Groups as some sort of badge of honor and that got to be a pain). I don't verify ARMA membership, however.
As with any social networking tool, use caution in what information you provide publicly and to your connections.
Speaking from the new part of my day job (investigations and forensics), if you're doing bad things at work (or elsewhere), I can assure you that LinkedIn is the very first place we look to find out about what someone is doing, who they know, and what their job history is. FaceBook is number two, but for professionals, they tend to be in LinkedIn. So if you're doing bad things, don't brag about yourself online. You can't hide from Google.
And I (ahem) have 541 connections (but Mimi Dionne's in there three times for some reason).
Patrick Cunningham, CRM
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"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759
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